Being a Dungeon Master is a rewarding experience that may seem intimidating at first glance. Whether you're prepping your very first session or you've been running games for years, the right tools can make a big difference.
This article spotlights a list of inexpensive resources here on D&D Beyond that help take the pressure off, so you can focus on the fun of storytelling, worldbuilding, and reacting to your players' delightful chaos.
- Free One-Shots
- Dungeon Master's Screen
- Monster, Spell, and Magic Item Filters
- Homebrew Tool
- Maps VTT
1. Free One-Shots
Free
Sometimes, the easiest way to run a great session is to let someone else do the heavy lifting. D&D Beyond offers several free one-shot adventures, which are perfect whether you need a night off from prep or want a starting point for your new campaign:
- Frozen Sick: Get to the bottom of a chilling mystery where a deadly illness plagues a small community on the continent of Wildemount.
- Intro to Stormwreck Isle: Learn how to play and seamlessly transition into the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set adventure.
- Peril in Pinebrook (PDF): A classic quest designed to introduce young players to the world of D&D, complete with puzzles and friendly NPCs.
- Prisoner 13: Infiltrate Revel's End, an impenetrable fortress holding the Sword Coast's most dangerous criminals.
- Scions of Elemental Evil: Dive beneath the Temple of Elemental Evil to stop a cult from bringing about an apocalyptic event.
- Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn: Play as the beloved characters from the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon as they quest to help their unicorn friend and thwart the evil wizard Kelek.
Each one-shot includes everything you need to run a session—story hooks, encounters, maps, and rewards. They're an excellent way to get a feel for pacing, structure, and tone if you're new to DMing—or just need something quick and fun for your group.
2. Dungeon Master's Screen
$19.99 – D&D Beyond Marketplace
A Dungeon Master's screen is an excellent tool for any in-person session. It allows you to keep your rolls and notes secret and provides quick reference to rules that will help you improvise during your session.
While you can easily make a DIY Dungeon Master's screen with two binders and some printed sheets of paper, the 2024 Dungeon Master's Screen is a perfect blend of form, function, and price.
This screen, which costs under $20, is equipped with a compact yet robust rule reference that can help you with whatever's happening in your session.
Has a player pulled out a new ability, and now you need to look up what the Petrified condition does? Perhaps they want to jump over a river of lava. Maybe they've decided to shrink down their Druid—who's Wild Shaped into Bear form—and air-drop them onto an enemy.
With four panels of optimized rules reference material on the screen's interior, you won't have to cut the action to look up rules—you can just ask, “Are you sure?” and keep the dice rolling.
3. Monster, Spell, and Magic Item Filters
Free
Need to find that perfect monster, magic item, or spell to fit your campaign? You can filter just about everything from the “Tools” dropdown on D&D Beyond.
Want a Gargantuan-sized monster with Blindsight and a Swim Speed? Looking for a cursed-yet-tempting Legendary magic item? Trying to customize an NPC by giving them some Divination-themed spells? These search tools can save you hours of flipping through books.
This feature includes content from the 2024 D&D Free Rules, which makes it a powerful, no-cost resource for new and veteran Dungeon Masters alike. As you grow your D&D Beyond library, all of your content will be filterable through these tools—you can even filter by source to match your campaign's unique theme.
4. Homebrew Tool
Free
With D&D Beyond's Homebrew tool, you can create custom spells, monsters, magic items, feats, backgrounds, species, and subclasses.
The possibilities here are endless. Need a dragon who's been corrupted by a Fiend from the Abyss? Clone the Ancient Red Dragon's stat block, add in some fiendish properties, and you're ready for an epic showdown!
You can also create homebrew character options and share them with players in any of your campaigns, making it possible to completely tailor your player's character options to your specific campaign.
There's even a near-infinite library of community homebrew that you can add to your game with a Master or Hero Tier subscription, which you can filter to find anything your campaign requires!
5. Maps VTT
Master Tier Subscription
Maps is an easy-to-use virtual tabletop (VTT) that connects directly with your D&D Beyond digital library. You can add content from your official, third-party, and homebrew sources, including maps and monster tokens. Then, when it's time for an encounter, invite your players to the digital playspace for a tactical battle.
The D&D Beyond Maps VTT also brings several time-saving Dungeon Master tools together in one seamless experience.
Encounter Builder. While the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide does an excellent job streamlining encounter difficulty, pulling out the calculator while planning every encounter can get tedious. On D&D Beyond Maps, you can add monster tokens to the playspace and automatically calculate your encounter's difficulty based on the party's level.
Initiative tracking made simple. If you've ever lost track of whose turn it is or spent crucial minutes flipping through a book to find stat blocks, the Initiative tracker built into D&D Beyond Maps will be your best friend. This feature integrates directly with encounters you build, allowing you to track turn order, Hit Points, and roll from a monster's stat block in real time.
Next Steps for Improving Your Game
The tools listed above can give you structure, speed up your prep, and help you feel more confident at the table. And because they're browser-based (save for the DM Screen), you can use them from your laptop, tablet, or even your phone.
You don't need to spend a fortune to run a memorable D&D session. Between free adventures, search tools, and streamlined prep features, D&D Beyond offers everything you need to run smoother sessions without breaking the bank.
Mike Bernier is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his partner, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.